About

Reader in Education Studies & Director of Postgraduate Research

School of Education, Learning and Communication Sciences

University of Warwick

Dr Thomas Perry is an applied social scientist and methodologist whose work examines education systems as knowledge systems, focusing on how research, evidence, data, expertise and professional practice interact in contexts of policy, organisational and technological change. He focuses on system-level challenges – including workforce development, educational inequality, leadership and institutional reform – as substantive problems and as sites where the production and use of knowledge are contested and reconfigured.

Methodologically, he specialises in the design and leadership of complex, multi-strand, mixed methods studies that integrate secondary data, fieldwork, systematic review and theory-based evaluation, with a view to generating robust and actionable evidence, and supporting its use in policy and professional practice. Alongside this, his work strengthens capacity for research and knowledge production and use across the system, including practitioner and participatory research, postgraduate training and research-practice partnerships. He has advised governments, funders and education organisations on research design, evidence use and policy development, and his work contributes to national and international debates through high-profile research, advisory roles and invited contributions across academic, policy and professional communities.

Research Interests:

• Knowledge, Evidence and Expertise in Education Systems – How education systems organise, generate and use knowledge, evidence, professional judgement and data, including the role of research across schools and higher education in contexts of policy, organisational and technological change.
• Research–Policy–Practice Interfaces and System Reform – How knowledge and evidence are translated, mobilised, interpreted and enacted in policy and professional settings, including partnerships, implementation processes, education policy development, and system-level reform.
• Methodology for Complex Educational Research – The design and integration of advanced quantitative methods, mixed methods, systematic review and theory-based evaluation to study complex, multi-level and real-world problems, including multi-strand and collaborative research involving practitioners and institutions.
• Equity, Workforce and Institutional Development – Educational inequalities, workforce development, leadership, accountability and structural reform across school and higher education sectors, examined as system-level challenges shaped by the production and use of knowledge and evidence.